5 Things Learned In Game 3 Of The NBA Finals

Related Tags:

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Five things to take away from the San Antonio Spurs’ 113-77 win over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night:

___

NBA GM’S ARE BAD: OK, that’s an overstatement. Sort of, anyway. Danny Green was the 46th pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Gary Neal wasn’t drafted by anyone. And they were the absolute heroes for the Spurs in Game 3, combining for 13 3-pointers and 51 points in San Antonio’s rout. Want to talk “Big Three?” Well, forget LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And forget Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili as well. The Spurs’ three leading scorers in Game 3 were Green (27), Neal (24) and Kawhi Leonard (14). How Green and Neal got away from so many teams will remain anyone’s guess.

___

LEBRON IS MAD: One has to wonder if it’s time for LeBron James to go into video game mode. And one has to wonder if James even can go into his unstoppable phase against a team playing as well defensively as the Spurs. James has 50 points in three games of this series, with his shooting numbers getting progressively worse in each game — 7 for 16, then 7 for 17, then 7 for 21. “I’ve got to be better,” James said after the game. If he doesn’t find a way to deliver, the Heat’s reign as champions could be over in a few more days.

___

PARKER’S STATUS: The three letters no one wanted to hear in Spursland came out after Game 3: MRI. San Antonio guard Tony Parker will be tested on Wednesday to determine the severity of a hamstring injury. Parker wasn’t really sure how it happened and did not seem overly concerned about the injury. “It was just weird,” Parker said, noting that he was not in pain postgame — a good sign, perhaps, for San Antonio.

___

MILLER TIME: Mike Miller’s uncanny run of shooting in NBA Finals games continued. He took five shots in Game 3, all from 3-point range, and they all dropped perfectly through the net. In his last four finals games, he’s 16 for 18 from 3-point range, an absolutely absurd percentage. Overall in this postseason, he’s connected on 14 of 28 tries from 3-point land.

___

COMING UP: Both teams will practice Wednesday, with most of the attention surely going to be on what the doctors say about Parker’s leg, and what the Heat will do to try to get back on track.